The need for a mechanism that will restrain a wheelchair from rolling backwards has been recognized as long as wheelchairs have been constructed. One of the uses for such a device is to prevent a user's wheelchair from rolling backward away from them as they sit down in the wheelchair, or as they stand up. These are often called anti-rollback devices. Another need arises from the challenges in ascending inclines and ramps with a manual drive wheelchair. In this instance the manual wheelchair user (MWU) must provide the propelling force to overcome the gravitational load. In common practice the MWU uses pushrims to rotate the rear wheel a fraction of a revolution, typically about 30 to 45 degrees. At the end of the push stroke the user must maintain a force through the pushrims to keep the chair from rolling backward. If another push stroke is required while on the incline, the MWU must let go of the pushrims, move their hands to a new placement on the pushrims, and re-grip the pushrims quickly enough that the wheelchair does not roll backward such that the previous incremental upward progress is lost. For many MWU's this push-and-grab procedure is difficult or impossible to accomplish. This has led to the development of various devices, often called “hill holders”. These hill holders have some sort of means of holding the wheelchair in position against the force of gravity while the MWU repositions their hands and is ready to push again. The hill holder style of device is distinguished from the anti-rollback devices by a more robust construction that can hold the weight of wheelchair and MWU against the force of gravity while on a ramp or incline.